Best Buy Warns Holiday Discounts Will Squeeze Margins

During its earnings call on Tuesday, Best Buy warned that its healthy Q3 profits (net income $54 million) will not be repeated because of the deep discounts required to remain competitive in December. This is a more general trend, according to a report from Morgan Stanley that sales growth during the fourth quarter is likely to be the worst since 2008. Best Buy will be joining retailers such as Macy’s in starting their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day.